


Amir and the Dawning Realization That He's In Love

by Waddles889



Category: The Two Princes (Podcast)
Genre: Cute, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, alternate POV retelling, bc this entire podcast is just instant serotonin, fun fact the og title is amir himbo king, i gotta say, speedrun edition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27527275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waddles889/pseuds/Waddles889
Summary: Amir had been following this guy for an hour, and he was pretty sure he’d never lifted a sword before in his life.Sure, the little thing with the giant wasp didn’t go horrifically, but Amir had better technique at ten years old than this guy did now. And then he’d fallen into a ditch and Amir had almost lost track of him.Why was he even following him?OR:Season 1, but this time it's from Amir's perspective.
Relationships: Amir/Rupert (Two Princes Podcast)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 126





	Amir and the Dawning Realization That He's In Love

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for me but you can read it too i guess

Amir’s sword had seen better days.

He’d been using it to cut branches out of his way for… well, weeks _ , _ at this point, and he was starting to think he’d be better off trying to make it to the Hollow without chopping down everything in his path, but then he remembered that everything in this forest was probably out to kill him, and the trees were no exception, so he kept cutting branches.

This would’ve been so much easier if his stupid horse hadn’t stupidly gotten spooked and abandoned him in this stupid forest. If Amir’s count was right, he’d been wandering around aimlessly for about a month now. 

He hoped his mother wouldn’t be too angry with him once he returned. 

Because he was going to return. He was going to find the Prince of the West, defeat him in the Hollow in glorious combat, drive this forest back where it came from, and finally break the curse that’s been plaguing his kingdom for eighteen years. 

That is, if the Prince of the West was as easy to defeat as he’d been hoping. Amir honestly had no idea what to expect. He’d never even met someone from the West— what if they had a completely different fighting style than what he’d been trained to deal with? What if the people of the West were as barbaric and backwards as everyone back home claimed? Was he prepared to deal with that level of violence, of brashness? 

“—mb trees—”

Amir froze.

Carefully, not even daring to breathe, he lowered his sword and peered through the gaps in the branches. Only green as far as the eye could see, except—  _ there _ , a shock of red hair and brown clothing. 

A man— or was it a boy? Amir couldn’t tell how old he was. He couldn’t have been older than seventeen.

The boy cursed, switching his sword to his other hand and wiping his palm on his pant legs. He didn’t look very comfortable with the blade. Was he even trained? And his clothing— Western, but not very regal or battle-ready. Definitely not the prince.

Whatever. He was the first person Amir had seen in a month, not counting the many, many sweet-talking carnivorous plants and the occasional humanoid spider. And Amir was dressed for combat. If he tried anything funny, Amir would have the upper hand.

The boy continued muttering to himself. Amir was too far away to pick up what he was saying, but he definitely didn’t seem too pleased with his circumstances. 

There was something about him— Amir didn’t know what, exactly, but his presence made the back of his head buzz. 

And, hey, this forest was notoriously dangerous. Keeping this mystery guy out of trouble for at least a couple of hours shouldn’t be too hard.

_ Maybe he even knows where the Hollow is,  _ Amir thought, then shook his head. Wishful thinking would get him nowhere. 

~~~

Amir had been following this guy for an hour, and he was pretty sure he’d never lifted a sword before in his life.

Sure, the little thing with the giant wasp didn’t go  _ horrifically, _ but Amir had better technique at ten years old than this guy did now. And then he’d fallen into a ditch and Amir had almost lost track of him.

Why was he even following him?

_ Because you haven’t talked to anyone but yourself for a month, _ his mind supplied. Amir scowled. 

A sickly sweet smell wafted through the air, and Amir fought the urge to sneeze. Of all the dumb ways to expose his position, that would probably be the dumbest.

Wait.

Amir knew that smell.

“Oh, darling!” a melodic voice sang. 

He groaned. “If I have to fight one more flirtatious plant, I’m going to rip this forest apart with my bare hands.”

“Is that you, lady voice?” the mystery guy called back.

Damn it. 

Amir sighed, pulling his rope from his pack and quickly securing it to a tree. Once he had climbed down, he picked his way through the brush, whacking a few branches out of the way with his sword. 

The Western boy ahead of him stumbled over a vine, but it hardly phased him. His voice sounded unfocused.

“Just follow my voice, darling. My song will show you the way,” the plant trilled.

It started to sing. Amir sheathed his sword and clamped his hands over his ears. There was no way he would fall for that thing’s magic again. 

Unfortunately, Gullible over here  _ definitely _ would. 

He stumbled past a few more vines, blindly following the plant’s voice. Amir cursed under his breath and chased after him, making sure to keep a safe distance. He couldn’t hear anything the boy was saying, but he talked with his hands a lot, carelessly waving his sword around.

The boy took a step back. Had he—? No, he wasn’t running away. Why hadn’t he run away? A vine snaked its way around his torso.

Oh. Well. 

Even with his ears covered, Amir could hear the pitch of the boy’s voice steadily rise in panic. The plant dragged itself out of the shadows, flashing its razor sharp teeth, or whatever the equivalent of teeth in a plant was.

Foul smelling saliva dripped from its jaws, sizzling on the ground. 

Yeah, no, those were definitely teeth.

Amir shuddered, but forced himself to keep watching. The Western boy had a weapon. He’d fought off those wasps, why wasn’t he doing anything now? Cautiously, Amir uncovered his ears and kept one hand on the hilt of his sword.

“—et me go, please! Somebody help me!”

Amir glanced around, as if someone would come charging out of the woods to free the other boy from being devoured. It wasn’t like he  _ wanted _ to leave that guy to his doom, but he wasn’t too keen to save a Westerner, either.

_ “Help! Somebody help me!” _

Ugh. Fine.

“That’s enough, monster!” Amir grabbed a rock and flung it at the plant, nailing it directly in the eye.  _ Score. _

_ “Ack! _ My  _ eye!” _ the plant cried. The tendrils around the Westerner loosened and he dropped to the ground with a thud before quickly scrambling to his feet, eyes wide.

“Wha— who are  _ you?” _ the boy said. 

Amir stepped in front of him. “Head back the way you came,” he said over his shoulder, “there’s a rope that you can climb to the surface.  _ I’m _ going to take care of this overgrown fly trap.”

The boy looked between him and the plant, shifting his weight back and forth. Amir shook his head and drew his sword. “Now  _ go!” _

The plant lunged forward. Amir side-stepped easily. “I’m going to tear you limb from limb you filthy, stinking human!” it yelled.

As if the entire trap it laid wasn’t based on toxic fumes. Amir huffed out a laugh. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

He charged.

The battle (if it even deserved that title. It hardly even deserved to be called a skirmish) was over before it even began. Amir dodged a spray of acid and swung his sword into a writhing tendril. He barely even felt the blade connect, passing through the vine like it was water. Maybe he didn’t need to worry about its condition after all.

The plant screamed. It snapped at him, but all that did was get him closer to its vital organs. One final swing and the head dropped to the forest floor unceremoniously. 

“If I never fight another one of those things, it’ll be too soon,” Amir said, sheathing his sword. He took off after the Westerner, who was halfway up the rope already. He held out a hand to Amir as he reached the top.

Instinctively, Amir took it.

The Westerner hauled Amir over the edge, then collapsed, panting.

“That was— that was intense!” He sat up, eyes wide. They were striking. With the light shining through the leaves, they looked almost magical.

Amir shook his head, focusing instead on brushing the twigs off of himself. “I don’t know what they’re called, but the forest is full of them.” 

The Westerner had not taken his eyes off of Amir. “Wow… well, I’m really glad you came along,” he said, taking Amir’s offered hand and pulling himself to his feet. “Thank you for rescuing me, and for being so beautiful.”

Amir froze.

“...What?”

The boy panicked.  _ “Brave!” _ he shouted, clearing his throat. “Thank you for being so  _ brave.  _ Wow, sorry, that was” —he laughed, and Amir’s face grew hot— “that was weird.”

Amir opened and closed his mouth like a fish. How did he even  _ respond _ to that?

“I think some of those toxins must still be messing with my head, y’know, making me say  _ crazy _ things,” the boy continued, circling his finger near his head in a  _ cuckoo _ gesture. “I don’t think you’re beautiful.”

Amir scoffed.

_ “Not _ that you’re ugly! I mean, obviously you’re not ugly. I mean, if I had to  _ choose, _ you know, if you put a sword to my head and said, ‘am I attractive or ugly, pick one,’ obviously I’d have to say you’re attractive because objectively that’s a fact—”

Amir didn’t think it was possible for his face to feel any hotter. His shoulders tensed.

“—but it’s not saying that you’re so attractive that I can’t stop looking at you,” said the boy, finally  _ (finally!) _ breaking eye contact and staring intensely at his shoes. The tips of his ears glowed bright red. He looked back up. “Am I talking a lot? I feel like I’m talking a lot.”

“You are,” Amir said, grateful to put an end to whatever  _ that _ was. He was— well, he knew at least some of the girls in his kingdom thought he was attractive, but he’d never interacted with them, so he wasn’t sure if this was a typical response. Certainly wasn’t a typical response from a  _ boy, _ for that matter.

Was it?

With a start, Amir realized the boy was still talking.

“—you for saving my life. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come along.”

Amir steadied himself and squared his shoulders. “Then it’s a good thing I’ve been following you.”

“What? You’ve been  _ following _ me?”

Amir glanced at the tree branch above them. “For the last hour.” 

“Ah, I  _ thought _ someone was watching me… wait, why were you following me? And what’s with the lasso?”

Amir spun the lasso in the air. “I have some questions, and since I don’t know or trust you, I feel like you’ll be more inclined to answer them if I tie you up and dangle you from a tree.”

“Yeah, makes sense.” Understanding flashed on the Westerner’s face. “Wait, wha—”

~~~

The questioning was more successful than Amir had thought it would be. His new travel companion, Fitzroy (whether or not that was his real name was up for debate),  _ was _ a Westerner, and he  _ did _ know where the Hollow was. 

Unfortunately, he was  _ also _ the single most annoying person Amir had ever met. 

He was a confessed thief, disrespectful of Amir’s royal status, and he would not. Stop. Talking. It was going to give him a migraine.

“So what’s in the Hollow?” Fitzroy— or Fitz, as he insisted he be called— asked. Amir raised an eyebrow.

“Shouldn’t you know? You’re the one who lives in the forest.”

“Yeah, ha, um. Well, I know where the Hollow  _ is, _ but I’ve never actually been inside.”

“Never?”

“No, I can’t, uh. I can’t get in.”

“Great,” Amir muttered. “I’m so glad I have a guide who knows what he’s doing.”

Fitz huffed. “Hey, I  _ do _ know what I’m doing. I probably know this forest better than anyone.”

“Not very hard to do, given that no one who’s entered has ever come back.”

“Cheery, aren’t you?”

Amir resisted the urge to smack Fitz. “Can’t you stop talking for  _ five minutes?” _

Fitz stopped in his tracks. “Huh? Oh,” he said. The grin on his face melted. “Yeah. Sorry.”

He looked so crestfallen that Amir almost wanted to apologize.

Almost.

He shook his head and pressed on. “Keep up, thief!”

“Yeah, no, I’m trying. It’s just a little difficult carrying all your stuff.”

~~~

Amir  _ knew _ he didn’t like the look of those clouds. Now he was trapped in some drafty cave with a panicking Fitz and his head was pounding and he just  _ could not deal with this right now _ .

“We’ll  _ starve _ to death!” Fitz said.

“Actually, we’ll probably run out of air before we starve to death,” Amir corrected, waving his torch over the pile of rocks blocking the entrance.

_ “How is that better?” _

Amir pinched the bridge of his nose. “Will you stop  _ shouting? _ That’s not going to—”

Wait. The flame was—

“Wait a second, look at the torch.”

“Oh great. What now, we’re going to burn to death?”

Amir rolled his eyes. “No, look at the flame. It’s moving, which means a breeze is getting in from somewhere, which means—”

“—There must be another exit!” Fitz’s eyes sparkled. A smile tugged at the corner of Amir’s lips. “But that means going deeper into the cave!”

The smile faded. “So?”

Amir turned followed the breeze further down into the cave, faltering at a crossroads for a moment, then to the right, where the flow of air came from. Behind him, he heard Fitz trip and barely catch himself on the wall. Amir fought off a smirk.

Fitz was talking, but Amir tuned it out (did he seriously expect Amir to believe he was  _ beloved _ in the West? With  _ that _ obnoxious display? Sure, it might help that he had good hair and a fairly regal jawline and incredibly striking eyes— wait, where was he going with this?). Light refracted off the rocks up ahead.

Amir waved a hand behind him, shushing Fitz. “Up ahead, I see something. Stay here, I’m going to check it out.”

Ignoring his protests, Amir rounded the corner and entered an open cavern. The ceiling was so high, he couldn’t even see it through the darkness that cloaked every crevice, causing his footsteps to echo through the chamber. It was entirely empty. 

Well, empty except for one thing.

Lying abandoned on a raised platform, pulsating with faint blue light, was an egg.

“It’s alright!” he said.

“What?” Fitz’s voice was faint.

“I said it’s alright!” Amir glanced over his shoulder, then back at the egg. This time, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He— as much as Fitz annoyed him, he couldn’t keep this to himself. “Come see!”

“What is it?” Fitz stopped in the entrance. “Oh, wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Is that… is that what I think it is?” he said, making his way over to Amir. The torchlight flickered, casting his wondrous expression in a soft golden glow. 

“It’s a dragon’s egg.”

“It’s beautiful,” Fitz breathed, crouching down to observe it at eye level. His eyes reflected the egg’s glimmer. Amir knelt beside him.

“It must be a fossil. Dragons have been extinct for centuries.”

Fitz ran his fingers over its surface, eyes widening. “No, it’s… it’s  _ warm.” _

Amir touched it. The egg hummed under his fingertips, brimming with magic and  _ life. _ He couldn’t help the surprised laugh that escaped from his lips. “You’re right!”

“Hey, you’re smiling.”

Fitz looked so pleased with himself. Amir rolled his eyes, but if anything, his grin grew wider. “Why shouldn’t I smile? This is an amazing discovery.”

Fitz launched into a story about how he wanted a dragon as a pet when he was little. Normally, Amir would berate him for rambling, but there was something so earnest in his expression that set Amir’s heart racing. There was something about Fitz that made Amir blurt out his own dreams about dragons. There was something genuine about Fitz’s presence.

It was a nice moment until the egg started to hatch.

Yeah, so much for looking dignified (though that ship might have already sailed once he admitted anything about his childhood dreams). Amir screamed, drawing his sword on instinct. Unfortunately, dragons were still wild animals. Blood-thirsty animals.

The dragon egg shattered.

The dragon itself was only the size of a large dog, but it immediately crawled in their direction. Amir pushed Fitz behind him.

“I’ma try to pet it,” Fitz said.

_ “What?” _

As if this thief couldn’t get any stranger.

He offered the dragon the last of their rations before Amir could form the correct words to protest. 

They were back to how they started. Irritation boiled in Amir’s blood.

“We are  _ trapped _ in here, and you just gave that thing the last of my rations.”

“Oh.” At least Fitz had the courtesy to sound guilty.

“Yeah, ‘oh.’ Do you have any idea of how much danger you put us in?”

Fitz spluttered. “Wait, wait wait wait wait wait.  _ What? _ How is this my fault? You’re the one who wanted to explore a deep and mysterious cave!”

Everything about Fitz that had seemed slightly off before was glaringly wrong now: his unfamiliarity with the monsters of the forest, his fear of this cave, his hesitance on his own name… none of it spelled “trustworthy.” 

Fitz stammered out a defense, but Amir wasn’t listening.

In the distance, a rockslide.

Amir faltered.

That didn’t mean he was going to leave Fitz here to  _ die. _

“We have to get out of here,  _ now.” _

Of course, Fitz had  _ something _ to say about that, just like he always did, instead of  _ getting the hell out of a crumbling cave. _ Then he was too focused on whatever the stupid dragon was doing instead of listening to him—

The dragon clawed his way through the rock wall and disappeared. Fitz grabbed Amir’s shoulder and pointed. He tried to ignore how his heart leapt into his throat. “Look! Down here, there’s a passageway. That must be where the breeze is coming from. It’s a way out!”

“It’s too small, we’ll never fit.” Amir carefully shifted away from Fitz’s grasp. He needed to focus.

“The dragon just got out. If he can squeeze himself through, we can certainly—”

The ceiling rumbled. A chill shot down Amir’s spine. It wasn’t so much of a thought as it was a feeling: that he had to get Fitz out of there as soon as possible.

Amir shoved Fitz as hard as he could. “Look out!”

The ceiling came down.

~~~

Fitz was gathering roots with his new dragon companion, which meant Amir was left watching their campsite. After making it out of the cave, Fitz had taken one look at him and refused to travel any further until Amir had gotten some rest. It was infuriating. If he didn’t get to the Hollow soon, then who knew what would happen to his kingdom?

But at the same time, Amir had to admit, it was nice to be cared for.

He didn’t know what he was expecting, back in the cave. He still didn’t know why he was so desperate to push Fitz out of the way. He barely even knew the guy. And by the same logic, why was Fitz so desperate to free Amir from those rocks? If Amir had been in Fitz’s place, he would’ve taken the first chance at escape he had.

...Wouldn’t he?

Amir ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. His thoughts were so weird, lately. And the way Fitz had reacted when Amir told him to leave without him, the way his eyes had flashed, his face set in grim determination… it was all so different than what he had expected the thief to be like. What kind of a criminal on the run returns to help a prince? From a rival kingdom, for that matter? Amir couldn’t understand it.

He caught a glimpse of Fitz’s hair through the trees. He laughed at something —probably the dragon— and Amir’s face grew warm. He wanted… was it weird that he wanted to hear his travel companion laugh more?

Fitz returned.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked, sitting cross legged in front of Amir.

“Better. I think I’ll be good to start walking now.”

Fitz held out the roots. “At least eat something first. Are these the kind you told me to dig up?”

Amir examined them. They matched the description exactly.

“Yeah, good job.”

“A  _ compliment?” _ Fitz said. His face broke into a smile. “I can’t believe it. The tides are changing.”

Amir took the roots and frowned. “I take it back. Terrible job.” He threw one of the roots at Fitz, who just laughed and bit into it.

“Your hands— are you— do you sword fight?”

Fitz raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“I just meant” —Amir fidgeted with the hem of his shirt— “your hands are… pretty soft for someone who carries a sword.”

“Oh! Um, no, not really. I used to climb a lot of trees and buildings and stuff, but not so much anymore. Why, what do your hands feel like?”

Amir removed his gloves, holding his palms out to Fitz, who ran his fingers over Amir’s calluses. His breath hitched.

“Wow, you must be a master swordsman.”

Amir shrugged. “I have to be, if I want to break the curse. And these aren’t all from swords. I’m trained in archery, spears, axes, ropes—”

“—and lassos, yeah, I remember. I haven’t… I wasn’t classically trained in combat, really.”

_ ‘I can tell,’ _ Amir wanted to say, but he didn’t.

“Though I  _ am _ classically trained in a few musical instruments.”

“Really?” Amir tried to picture Fitz at a grand piano. 

“Oh yeah. My mother—”

Fitz cut himself off. He let go of Amir’s hand, leaned back, snatched up a root, and shoved it in his mouth before Amir could ask what was wrong.

“Oh my word, I just realized how hungry I am.”

Amir hoped Fitz wouldn’t make himself sick by eating too much at once. They already had enough problems to deal with, with the dragon and all.

~~~

Amir didn’t know how apologizing to a dragon had led to this. He had just spilled everything that was on his mind because Fitz had told him to say something nice to a  _ dragon. _ A dragon he stubbornly insisted they name  _ Porridge. _ And now Fitz knew everything about how he was worried about his mother, about his irritation at the forest, about his disappointment in himself…

And the strange thing?

Amir was okay with that.

He didn’t know why, but something about Fitz was just easy to talk to. He wanted to laugh at Fitz’s dumb jokes. He wanted to tell Fitz about everything that was on his mind.

Well, maybe not everything.

Amir found himself catching secret glimpses of Fitz whenever he could. He’d memorized the slope of his nose, his blinding grin, the way his hair curled around his ears. Amir thought back to when Fitz had blurted out that he was beautiful and found himself grateful that his darker complexion would hide the blush on his face.

It was only natural that he ask Fitz to stay with him all the way to the Hollow. The request slipped out of his mouth without any of the nervousness he’d expected it to, and Fitz had agreed almost immediately. He had smiled and cracked a joke and taken Amir’s hand and it was like a spark ignited the second their hands touched.

And then he had referred to them as partners and Amir ruined everything, scrambling to establish the parameters of their relationship and completely stepping on the moment.

~~~

Fitz was a  _ genius. _

Amir ran a hand through his hair, watching Barabas and his gang trample everything in their path in their haste to get away from them. He sheathed his sword with a smile. How had Fitz come up with a plan so quickly?  _ And _ he’d covered for Amir before he could land them in even deeper water. Everything about Fitz blindsided Amir, flooring him with yet another way to set his heart racing.

“In fact,” Fitz was saying, “between my brains and your brawn, I’d say we make a pretty good team.”

Amir smirked. “We do. Although, technically, I have both brains and brawn.”

“True. But I have the personality and the winning smile.” Fitz flashed him a grin and a laugh bubbled out of Amir’s chest.

Delight spread across Fitz’s face. “Was that a  _ laugh?” _ he said. His eyes lit up, and he beamed, taking Amir’s hands. “Did I make you  _ laugh?” _ He dropped Amir and lifted Porridge up like a dog. “Porridge! It’s a midnight miracle!”

Amir rolled his eyes. “Alright, okay—”

“Mama has a sense of humor!”

“Okay, settle down, it’s been an exhausting day and we should get some sleep. We still have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow.”

Fitz begrudgingly set Porridge down, then yawned. “Aye aye, boss. You are in charge, and I, for one, am ready to drop.”

“Good. You get some rest, I’ll take the first watch.”

“Sounds good.”

“And Fitz—”

“Yeah?”

What was he even going to say? ‘You’re a genius’ and ‘I could kiss you right now’ were a little too intense. “Keep up the good work, partner.” he decided.

Fitz gave him a sleepy grin.

He was out a couple minutes later. Amir would give anything to have his ability to just conk right out whenever, but he never could get to sleep in less than twenty minutes. He watched Fitz’s breathing steady out.

Fitz was beautiful. This was— well, to quote the man himself, an objective fact. His soft breaths fluttered the locks of hair that had fallen in his face. Amir reached out to brush them away, then stopped.

He knew— back in the East, this wouldn’t be weird. It  _ wasn’t _ weird. His mother would surely be supportive, especially if she knew how brave and loyal Fitz was (well, she might not like the thief aspect, but you can’t have everything). He wasn’t sure why, out here, he felt so—

Amir clenched and unclenched his fist. Fitz wouldn’t even know, really, but that wouldn’t change the intent behind his actions. He needed to focus on getting to the Hollow. That was what was most important.

Fitz shifted in his sleep, scrunching his nose in a wince. More hair fell into his eyes.

It had only been one day. It had only been  _ one day, _ but already Amir knew he liked Fitz more than anyone else he’d ever met. Being with him just felt  _ right. _

Amir groaned and dragged his hands down his face. Was he going insane? This had to be a result of Fitz being the first person he’d met in over a month, right? But just looking at him… Amir knew this was something different.

He leaned over and brushed the hair out of Fitz’s face, whose expression instantly softened.

Amir sighed, resigning himself to his fate.

~~~

He couldn’t stop looking at Fitz.

He just— he  _ knew _ he was safe, he dragged him out of that bog, or that quicksand, or whatever it was, he dragged him out of that  _ himself _ , he watched Fitz sit up and cough up a lungful of mud, he heard Fitz’s teasing about his worried expression, but Amir just wanted to be sure.

He was just glad Fitz was okay, that was all.

Amir looked over at him. He’d just gotten out of the water and was pulling his jacket over his clothes. It was funny— with his hair wet and his clothes clinging to his damp skin, it almost looked like he was getting ready for bed. Maybe Western fashion was drastically different than Eastern fashion, but his outfit reminded Amir of pajamas.

“I thought that mud would  _ never _ come out of my hair,” he said. “You coming out?”

Amir blinked. “In a minute. I have like, a month’s worth of forest on me.”

Fitz wrinkled his nose. “Good point.”

“Not gonna refute that, huh?”

“Not if you’re fishing for compliments.”

Amir laughed and Fitz smiled at him.

He must’ve laughed more in the past two days than he’d ever laughed before in his life. Amir floated backwards in the lake, letting his mind wander.

In just two days, Fitz had cemented himself as Amir’s best friend. He never thought… he’d had friends before, technically, but that was a long time ago, and whether or not they were more than just acquaintances was debatable. But Fitz— he was so genuine and passionate and funny that Amir couldn’t help but feel…

_ Fitz’s smile, Fitz’s fierce determination, Fitz’s hand pressed against his, Fitz’s laugh. _

There was a word for this.

Amir shook his head and dragged himself out of the water, dressing himself quickly. “This place is paradise. We should stay here all day.”

“All day? We should stay here  _ forever,” _ Fitz said, sidling up next to him.

“Okay, we’ll just call off our quest and spend the rest of our lives eating roots and raising our dragon on the edge of this lake.” Porridge squeaked in agreement. Amir leaned down and patted the top of his head. “How does that sound?”

He meant it as a joke, but there was something tempting about it. That word was on the forefront of his mind.

“Actually, Amir, that sounds  _ perfect.” _

Fitz looked out over the lake, the smile fading from his lips. He sat down with a sigh.

“What’s the matter? You look… sad.”

“No, it’s nothing,” said Fitz, though it was  _ clearly  _ something. “I was just thinking—”

There it was.

“—about what my mother would say if she saw me now. Like this.”

Amir shifted his feet. He was never the greatest when it came to emotions. He never knew what to say.

He sat down next to Fitz.

“She’d probably be very impressed you were hobnobbing with royalty.”

Fitz laughed, and Amir preened. That word—

“Maybe. If you were a princess, she’d be thrilled.” Amir froze. “Unfortunately, my mother has a very high and very specific expectation for me.”

Amir set his jaw and glared at the shoreline. “I see.”

He clicked his tongue. “So your being a thief, that must’ve really disappointed her. Is that why you ran away from home?”

“Partly?” Fitz wet his lips and sighed. “I guess— I just—”

“What?”

“I don’t think my mother’s ever really  _ seen _ me, you know? Seen  _ me _ for  _ me. _ ” Fitz drew his knees up to his chest, gesturing vaguely outwards in an attempt to illustrate his point. “She just has this idea of who she wants me to be, and I thought by coming here and doing something brave and important that I could convince her that I’m  _ not _ the child she thinks I am.”

Amir shifted closer to Fitz. He reached over to wrap him in a side-hug, then hesitated, dropping his arm back to his side.

“That I’m my own person and I can make my own decisions,” Fitz finished.

“I know what you mean.” Amir broke his gaze, turning to look back out at the waterfall. “All my life, I’ve been preparing for this day. My mother trained me and educated me from dawn to dusk, and I understand why. She wanted me to be prepared for everything so I’d survive. And I appreciate that, I do, but I never really had the time for anything else. For friendship, or r—”

He glanced back at Fitz, who was listening intently. His expression was soft, the ghost of a smile lingering on his lips. “—Other things.”

Amir shrugged. “At the time, I didn’t mind, but with these last couple days, here, with you” —Fitz’s expression broke into a grin, and Amir smiled back— “it’s like I finally had a glimpse of what I’ve been missing, and it’s nice. Having someone by my side, sharing my life, it makes everything—”

“—Less lonely.”

Amir raised an eyebrow. “Yeah.”

Fitz launched into a joking speculation about if he grew up in the East. Amir was self-aware enough to know that pre-forest Amir would’ve been way less accepting of Fitz, but Fitz wasn’t having it. He just  _ insisted: _

“Wouldn’t you like me better if I were a prince?”

Something uneasy twisted in Amir’s gut. “I like you just the way you are.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Fitz didn’t sound sure. He picked at the grass near his feet and chuckled. “Except I might drive you crazy—”

“No, Fitz, I’m serious.” Amir took a breath, and propelled himself forward, placing a hand on Fitz’s shoulder. That  _ word _ danced on his tongue. “I like you more than anyone I’ve ever met. And, for what it’s worth, I just want you to know… I see you.”

Fitz’s breath caught. Amir let go of his shoulder, his heart pounding in his ears. He had to— that word, he knew what it was. He had to tell Fitz  _ now. _

They spoke at the same time:

“I don’t suppose you—” 

“Okay, I should probably— sorry, sorry, sorry, what were you—” Fitz said.

“No, no, I’m sorry, you were saying something.”

“Please, after you.”

Amir smiled. “No, after  _ you.” _

Fitz returned his smile, then dropped his gaze to his hands. He picked at his cuticles, fingers trembling. His face flushed. “Well, it’s just— there’s something I need to tell you? And I’m not sure how you are going to take it.”

Amir’s heart leapt into his throat. There was no way— that  _ word, _ that feeling he had, was Fitz—?

“What is it?”

Fitz closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, but it didn’t stop his hands from trembling. It looked like it might’ve even made it worse. Amir barely breathed, heart thudding in his ears.“My name’s not Fitzroy.”

No.

That’s not— that wasn’t what he was supposed to say. He was supposed to say the  _ word _ , but if he wasn’t Fitzroy, and he knew where the Hollow was—

_ No. _

“And I’m not a thief,” Fitz —or whatever his name was, but Amir had a guess— continued. “And I don’t live in this forest, I live in the royal castle. With my mother. The Queen.”

A wave of nausea rolled in Amir’s stomach, sending chills through his body. He heard what Fitz was saying, but his voice was far away and muffled like he was underwater.

Eventually, he found his voice. “The Queen?”

“I’m a prince,” he said.  _ “The _ prince, actually, I’m Prince Rupert—”

Amir reeled back like he’d been slapped, staggering to his feet. Before he even knew what he was doing, his sword was drawn. Fitz— Rupert? yelped, his eyes widening almost comically.

“Get  _ away _ from me!”

Was that Amir’s voice? It must’ve been. His face and ears burned, his heart pounding so frantically in his chest that he thought his ribcage might burst. That word, dancing in his brain only seconds ago, crumbled in front of him. 

Rupert pushed himself backward, holding his hands up. “Woah, okay! I realize I shouldn’t have lied—”

“I  _ knew  _ it! I knew I should  _ never _ have trusted you.” Amir fought to keep his voice from trembling. He couldn’t think. His head buzzed, his ears rang, and his blood boiled. Rupert was stammering out a defense. A  _ defense?  _ Here, now? The  _ nerve _ of this man, to claim he valued honesty when he’d been playing Amir like a fool from the very start.

“The  _ truth?” _ he shouted. “You’ve been lying to me from the moment we met.” Rupert was talking, but he wasn’t listening. “This was all part of your plan, to gain my trust, to get me to lower my guard, so you can stab me in the back!”

Rupert stumbled to his feet, eyes wide and mouth agape. “What are you talking about? We’re on the same side! We want the  _ exact  _ same thing, to get to the Hollow and break the curse!”

Amir stepped forward, brandishing his sword. Rupert backed away. Did he really not understand the gravity of the situation? “Yeah, except according to the prophecy, the curse can only be broken when the battle between the two kings ends and one kingdom triumphs over all the land.”

“So what if some stupid kings fought a duel and started this mess a thousand years ago?”

“A thousand years ago?” Amir bit back a harsh laugh. “This forest was created  _ exactly _ eighteen years ago, right after we were born. Right after our  _ fathers _ went to war.”

Rupert looked like he’d been punched in the stomach. He immediately blabbered out excuses, denial so intense that Amir thought—

“You  _ really  _ never knew?”

“No,” Fitz—  _ Rupert _ whispered, and Amir believed him. He lowered his sword.

“I’m sorry, then. But the prophecy is  _ very _ clear. We have to finish what our fathers started.”

“How?” said Rupert. But it looked like he already knew.

“We fight each other. To the death.”

~~~

Amir made it twenty feet into the maze of thorns before bursting into tears.

It was about time. His head had been pounding from his efforts to keep himself from crying in front of Fi— in front of Rupert and it was killing him.

Why did Fitz have to be the Western prince? He finally met someone who understood him, who made him laugh, who  _ trusted _ him, and he was the  _ one person _ he was supposed to kill? What kind of cruel joke was this?

Amir hiccuped, scrubbing at his eyes furiously. “Stop being ridiculous,” he hissed. 

Rupert had been genuinely shocked at the prophecy. And if his mother had lied to him from day one… He hadn’t been prepared at all. 

_ It would be really easy to kill him, _ his mind supplied.

No, he couldn’t— He didn’t want to—

Amir sank to his knees, trying to focus on his breathing, but his mind stubbornly returned to Rupert. 

Was any of their relationship even real?

That compassion, that determination, his humor, that  _ had _ to be real. But did he  _ really _ care about Amir? Or was that all just so he wouldn’t run him through with his sword the first chance he got?

If Amir had known earlier, would he have taken that chance?

He wiped the tears off his face and leaned back against a tree, exhaling slowly. His head still throbbed, but there wasn’t too much he could do about that now. Amir took a sip of water from his waterskin and stared blankly ahead.

Amir wanted to be mad at Rupert, but he just… couldn’t.

Instead, he was just…

That night, when Rupert had pulled him out from under the rocks in the cave,  _ that _ was real. Rupert, despite how horribly Amir had treated him, wouldn’t leave him behind. And when they had found the dragon egg, and when they had outsmarted Barabas, it was like they were on the same page. They knew exactly what the other was thinking.

_ That _ was real.

Amir felt like he’d known Rupert for years. He buried his face in his hands and groaned. Why couldn’t Rupert have been as obnoxious as he had first appeared? Why couldn’t he have been a blood-thirsty jerk? Why couldn’t he have been anyone other than who he really was?

That word, that stupid word that wouldn’t leave Amir alone tugged at his thoughts.

He loved Rupert.

And tomorrow, he’d have to kill him.

~~~

Was it really any surprise that Amir went charging into danger the second he thought Rupert might be in trouble?

He’d tried to play it off, and he wasn’t sure if Rupert bought his excuse or not. He always saw straight through him, anyway.

Amir itched for a monster to attack. If a wild boar came charging through the brush intent on goring both of them, at least then he’d have something to take this out on. But as it was, he was left shredding leaves and ripping grass out of the ground while he tried and failed to look anywhere other than Rupert’s silhouette in the moonlight.

The crickets chirping seemed to laugh at him.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

Of course, they only got louder.

Porridge had his head tucked under Rupert’s chin, snuggling up against him like he was a house cat. A grumbling sound from his chest even sounded a bit like he was purring. Rupert had an arm draped over Porridge protectively. 

Amir really,  _ really _ didn’t want to fight him tomorrow.

Rupert shifted. It was hard to tell in the dark if his eyes were open or not.

“Hey Fitz- I mean, Rupert?”

Rupert stirred. “Yeah?”

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah, why?” said Rupert. He propped himself up on his elbows.

“What are you thinking about?” Amir asked, knowing the answer.

“Tomorrow.”

“Me too.”

~~~

It was official.

Amir hated his dad.

He could trace every problem he’d ever had back to this egotistical jerk, and the list only got more extensive as time passed. His war had caused a curse to threaten the lives of everyone in Amir’s kingdom for eighteen years, he forced Amir to fight Rupert to the death, he held his mother hostage until said battle was over, he planned on taking over both kingdoms if Amir won, and he  _ still _ expected Amir to do his bidding without complaint?

Unfortunately, it was looking like he didn’t have much of a choice.

Across the clearing, Rupert drew his sword, his expression grim. He shifted his stance, shuddered, and took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, Rupert,” Amir breathed.

Rupert, that idiot, just smiled. “It’s okay.”

“Now then,” the Western King said. His smirk was audible in his voice. “Any last words?”

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“In that case, let the last battle begin.”

Amir took the first swing. Rupert blocked him, bringing their swords together in a clang before twisting and forcing Amir to step back. Amir ducked under Rupert’s next attack. The swish ruffled his hair.

Rupert winced. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Amir said, thrusting his sword forward as he rose to his feet. Rupert hit his blade away. 

The Kings goaded them on. Amir’s father clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Amir feinted to the left. Rupert moved to block, but Amir came at him from the right. He yelped and staggered back, slashing outwards. The sword snagged a thread off of Amir’s shirt.

He let himself breathe for a moment before launching back into it, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword and swinging. If he didn’t look at Rupert’s face, he might be able to trick himself into thinking it was just another sparring match. A sparring match that ended with Amir killing his opponent. Besides, it was pretty hard to see what was going on anyway when he was so focused on fighting back his tears.

The swing came out of nowhere.

Stars exploded in Amir’s vision. He reeled backwards with a cry, hand flying up to the side of his head where the hilt of Rupert’s sword had hit. Rupert gasped and opened his mouth to apologize, but Amir shook his head, coming at him with another thrust. Their swords connected and they pressed against each other in a standstill.

“Stop taking it easy on me,” Rupert said.

“I’m not, I’m just getting warmed up.  _ You  _ stop taking it easy on  _ me.” _

“I’m not.” Rupert grunted as Amir kicked his shin. “Just bad with a sword.”

He jabbed his blade at Amir, who parried and dove to the side. Rupert’s sword sliced through empty air as Amir rolled and came up on one knee. 

Blood roared in his ears. His breath was coming up shallow, his lungs screaming for air. The end of his sword dragged in the dirt, his arms burning. If they didn’t end this soon—

Rupert swung his sword again, but stumbled, missing Amir by a few inches. His grip was too tight, turning his knuckles white and causing his hands to shake. That, or it was just nerves. Either way, it was clear Rupert hadn’t been lying earlier. He really  _ didn’t _ know how to use swords.

Amir lunged forward, taking off a chunk of Rupert’s jacket. Their fathers were shouting at them, urging them to fight harder, but Amir tuned them out, forcing Rupert back until he was cornered against a tree. His sword clanged against Rupert’s. 

The blade ripped itself from Rupert’s grasp and skidded across the ground, stopping at the base of their fathers’ tree. Rupert’s shoe snagged on a root in his haste to retreat.

He went down.

Amir knew what this meant.

“I’m sorry, Rupert,” he said, struggling to catch his breath. The space behind his eyes pounded with the effort to stop himself from crying. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know. It’s okay, I understand.”

Damn it, Rupert. Why did he have to be so  _ noble _ about this?

The Western King sneered. “Don’t just stand there like a lamb for the slaughter,  _ run,  _ throw sand in his face,  _ something!” _

Amir swallowed back the lump in his throat. “You can go get your sword, we’ll keep fighting.”

Rupert’s eyes flashed. “No.”

“What are you  _ doing?  _ If you surrender I still have to kill you!”

“I know.”

“Then  _ get up!” _ Amir hissed.

_ “No.” _

“No?”

“We both know there’s only one way this is going to end. After all, you’ve been training for this your entire life! Besides, I don’t want to spend the last few minutes of my life fighting. Not with you.”

He looked up at Amir, who averted his gaze. He tightened his grip on his sword and forced himself to breathe. “Rupert,  _ please. _ If you don’t get up, I’m going to have to kill you.”

“I know! And that’s okay,” Rupert said, but it  _ wasn’t.  _ He  _ couldn’t  _ do this. “I know it’s going to sound crazy, but these past few days have been the best days of my entire life, and that’s because I got to share them with  _ you.” _

Amir couldn’t— he couldn’t listen to this. 

“You are my  _ best friend, _ Amir.”

Amir’s hands shook. He didn’t look at Rupert. He couldn’t. If he did, he’d  _ definitely _ cry.

How cruel did this forest have to be? The curse wasn’t punishment enough for everything their fathers did, so it resorted to  _ this? _

“You act so tough, but I know deep down how much you care.” Rupert inhaled shakily. “Everything you do, you do because you care, and I am  _ so glad _ I got to meet you. And if it’s the last thing I ever get to say to you, I just want you to know...”

Amir squeezed his eyes shut.

“I love you.”

Amir whipped his head around to face Rupert, eyes wide, heart pounding. He didn’t dare to breathe.

“You do?”

“Yeah. I hope that’s okay.”

“Okay?” His sword slipped through his fingers and clattered to the ground.  _ “Why  _ didn’t you say something sooner?” Amir said, running his hand through his hair. He dropped to his knees in front of Rupert, not bothering to hold his tears back anymore. The prophecy— it was so glaringly  _ obvious _ now. “Don’t you know I love you too?”

Amir cupped Rupert’s face in his hands and pulled him into a kiss.

As cliche as it sounded, the whole world melted away. Nothing else mattered: not the forest, not the curse, not the Kings. The only thing that mattered was Rupert. 

~~~

It had been a week since the forest had disappeared.

Amir hadn’t left Rupert’s side the entire time.

“You named yourself after your dog?” he asked. Rupert stuck his tongue out at him, ruffling the fur behind Fitzroy’s ears.

“It’s a good name.”

Amir snorted. He leaned down and patted the top of Fitzroy’s head. “Yeah, it is.”

Turns out, Rupert  _ had _ been wearing pajamas the entire time in the forest. There was this whole thing with his mom and a royal ball? Amir didn’t understand Lavinia’s love of parties, and neither did Rupert. 

Anyway, the point was that Rupert was finally wearing his normal attire: a well-fitted red coat, brown pants, and black boots. It looked  _ really  _ good. Amir couldn’t stop staring at him.

“Do I have something on my face or something?”

“No, no, I just, um. I just like looking at you,” Amir said. Rupert grinned.

“Hey, I thought  _ I _ was supposed to be the sappy one.”

“Shut up.”

Rupert leaned over and planted a kiss on Amir’s nose. “I’m kidding, I appreciate it.”

~~~

Amir liked touching Rupert. Any time he could lean into his side, press a kiss to his forehead, or sling an arm over his shoulder, he did. It was a reminder that he was  _ real, _ that they had broken the curse. 

He slipped his hand into Rupert’s as they toured their new castle. 

“—just not sure this particular shade of red really ties the room together. It’s such a dark color and I’m not super in love with how it matches the other colors. What do you think, Amir?”

Amir shrugged. He really didn’t have an eye for this sort of thing. It all looked the same to him. “You know better than I do, love.”

Rupert preened at the nickname, face flushing. “Y- uh, yeah, sure, thanks. Um.. maybe a mauve?”

“Sounds lovely.”

~~~

Queen Atossa was suffocatingly supportive of Rupert and Amir’s future marriage. She took one look at Rupert and instantly decided he was the perfect boy.

Which, he  _ was, _ but it was still a bit awkward for your mother to say that to your fiance. 

Atossa pulled Amir aside one day.

“You have been bestowed a beautiful gift by the universe. Do  _ not _ take it for granted. Rupert is a wonderful boy and I’m so glad you’ve found each other. I’d hate for you to—”

“Mom, don’t worry about it. Seriously, there is no way I’m gonna mess this up. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Queen Lavinia, on the other hand, took a little more time to warm up to the idea.

Amir couldn’t blame her, really. It was a new idea. Plus, she was trying. It would’ve been a very different story if she had gotten angry, but she was determined to give Rupert whatever support she needed after eighteen years of lies and deception. No wonder Rupert had a knack for spinning stories to get himself out of trouble, with Lavinia as his role model.

She did come around, though, and once she did, she was almost worse than Atossa. Her expertise at throwing parties came in handy for planning the wedding, but she had a love for ruffles that Amir would never understand. From the way he wrinkled his nose at the mere suggestion, Rupert didn’t get it either.

“Mom, seriously, I appreciate that you’re trying to be supportive, but we are  _ not _ adding bows to every table. We can handle some of this ourselves,” Rupert said. Amir gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Oh, I just can’t remember the last time you’ve looked so happy!” Lavinia crooned. She swooped in and kissed Rupert’s cheek, then ruffled his hair. She reached out to Amir, but he politely side-stepped, shooting a panicked glance at Rupert.

“Yeah, it’s great.” Rupert steered Lavinia away from them and towards the door. “Now don’t you have a meeting to get to?”

“Oh, that’s right.” She turned around. “I just can’t believe you’re getting  _ married!” _

“Uh-huh, me neither.” 

Amir stifled a laugh. Rupert rolled his eyes at him, smiling, then returned to coaxing his mother out of the room.

“You’re getting married for love!”

“Yeah, uh-huh.” Rupert pushed her into the hallway. “Have fun at your meeting! Bye!”

The door slammed shut. Rupert gave an exasperated sigh and dragged his hands down his face while Amir laughed.

~~~

Moonlight filtered in through the window, illuminating the long since abandoned book on the desk in soft silver light. Crickets were just barely audible through the glass, the only relic of the sounds of the forest. Amir sighed and scrubbed his eyes.

The door behind him swung open.

“You’re still awake?” Rupert whispered.

“Hi, love,” said Amir.

Rupert hugged him from behind and kissed the top of his head. “You should get some sleep. We’ve got another long day of corralling our mothers into planning a relatively reasonable wedding tomorrow.”

Amir chuckled. “Yeah, alright.” He yawned as he stood up, stretching. “You’re too good to me.”

“I just worry about how much sleep you’re getting. I mean, I know you’re busy, and I am too, but the dangers of sleep deprivation are real and can really build up over time if you don’t take care of yourself and I just want you to—”

Amir grinned,

“Rupert, shut up and kiss me.”

fin.

**Author's Note:**

> i tried to make the canon scenes feel a little fresh but idk how well i did? anyway amir is a legend he truly did a speedrun of enemies to lovers huh


End file.
